Sony PlayStation 5 Slim: Developer kits shipped, launch already imminent

It has been almost certain for quite some time that Sony will equip its PS5 console with additional variants. Already in September, there was talk of a variant with a removable drive, which could appear as PlayStation 5 Slim as early as 2023. Corresponding developer kits are apparently already in circulation, and the launch could be upon us shortly.

PlayStation 5 Slim: Release already in early 2023?

Sons slims down the PS5. It was almost certain that the admittedly comparatively huge console would be followed by a more compact model – after all, this was already done with the predecessors.

However, the PlayStation 5 Slim will apparently be released earlier than initially thought. At least that’s what insider Tom Henderson from Insider Gaming claims via Twitter, who, according to his own statement, has already heard from two people that corresponding test kits are already in circulation and “work without problems”.

Henderson assumes that an official announcement should already be made in the coming days. Officially, the model with detachable drive is called “Model D”, after the PS5 is already available with A, B and C chassis.

Concrete details or specifications are of course not yet available. However, Henderson assumed at the time that the PlayStation 5 Slim would come with almost identical hardware, but would offer a removable disc drive that connects to the console via USB Type-C.

PS5 Slim power consumption could drop

But the PlayStation 5 Slim could bring a decisive advantage, apart from the more compact dimensions, and that is in terms of energy efficiency and power consumption. According to rumors, the model relies on an AMD Oberon chip, which is manufactured in the 6 nm process.

This reduces the size of the chip and thus the power consumption of the console. The normal PlayStation 5 has also been available in a new hardware revision called CFI-1202 for quite some time, which was first seen in the FIFA 23 bundle, then also in combination with God of War Ragnarok.

The new Oberon chip is already used here as well, where the sheer area has been reduced from 300 mm² to 260 mm² by switching to the 6 nm process. This not only reduces manufacturing costs, but also – at least in theory – the console’s power consumption, since the power supply shrinks accordingly.

It remains to be seen when Sony will present the PlayStation 5 Slim. However, it is almost certain that the new model will be available in 2023.

And a more powerful PlayStation 5 Pro is probably also on the horizon. PlayStation VR2, Sony’s new VR headset, will be launched in February 2023. So it will be an exciting year for PlayStation fans.